REVIEW: Superman ’78: The Metal Curtain #5
Superman ’78: The Metal Curtain #5 continues the exploration of Christopher Reeve’s beloved portrayal of Superman and so far I am loving every moment of it.
Before we get into the issue itself, let’s take a look at the covers. The main cover is by interior artist Gavin Guidry and it perfectly showcases an exact scene from the issue itself. Whilst the colour palette is minimal, seeing a brightly coloured blue, red and yellow suit just makes our Man Of Steel stand out all the more.
Jahnoy Lindsay’s variant is nothing short of stunning. This is a great take on the iconic scene from the film where Jeff East who played Clark Kent, raced a train. The clever effect of blurring Clark and also the train just shows the speed at which they are running and captures the movement perfectly.
The variant by Michael Walsh is probably my favourite. I love everything about it, the shading, the neon colour palette with a hint of pastel, it’s just stunning and really makes that iconic emblem pop. It’s incredibly detailed and simplistic at the same time, and that likeness to Christopher Reeve? Perfect.
Superman’ 78: The Metal Curtain #5 opens out with a rather awkward meeting between Superman, Lois and her father, General Sam Lane. They are here to meet with someone, someone who rather unexpectedly assisted Superman in the previous issue – Lex Luthor. He know’s more than he originally let on about Metallo and agreed to meet with them to lend a helping, but gloating hand, after all he is he creator. Here we hear the stories of how it got into the Russians hands and why it was created. This sequence was surprisingly humorous, all thanks to Lex Luthor and his rather ignorant ways.
After finding out more about the suit and its abilities and lack of weaknesses, Superman takes the decision to go and seek out Metallo to end this once and for all. As always you have to admire Superman for his spirit, even in these circumstances, the last time he came face to face with Metallo, he was nearly killed. But when it comes to saving lives… we all know that won’t stop him.
It’s safe to say writer Robert Venditti, artist Gavin Guidry and colourist Jordie Bellaire really do blend their take on the characters so well with the film. It’s filled with fun references to the original films, but also the dialogue and likenesses of the characters are second to none. The artwork is so reminiscent of the ’78 era, it’s seamless and has a real classic vibe to it which suits the book well.
Superman’ 78: The Metal Curtain #5 has some pretty great Superman moments, especially towards the end of the issue as Superman heads to Moscow to deal with Metallo, here we see him get a taste of the propaganda that they have shared about him and he sees just how ruthless and undignified Metallo really is.
